Secret Plan to Impose Regime on Iraq

by Brian Whitaker and Luke Harding

A disagreement has broken out at a senior level within the Bush
administration over a new government that the US is secretly
planning in Kuwait to rule Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Under the plan, the government will consist of 23 ministries, each
headed by an American. Every ministry will also have four Iraqi
advisers appointed by the Americans, the Guardian has learned.

The government will take over Iraq city by city. Areas declared
"liberated" by General Tommy Franks will be transferred to the
temporary government under the overall control of Jay Garner, the
former US general appointed to head a military occupation of Iraq.

[Garner might not be welcome among some Iraqis because of his
support for Israel, expressed in a 2000 letter saying that a strong
Jewish state is an asset to the United States.

The letter was sponsored by the Jewish Institute for National
Security Affairs, the hard-line lobbying group linked to the idea
that invading Iraq and overthrowing President Saddam Hussein is
good for both Israel and the United States.--Jonathan Wright, "U.S. Ready to Rebuild Iraq Without U.N.," Reuters,
March 25, 2003]